According to the New York Daily News, the Jets have (finally) signed this year’s third round pick, linebacker Demario Davis. Per the Daily News, Davis was signed to a four-year deal.

Newsday beat writer Kimberley Martin revealed that Davis’ deal is worth around $2.9 million, with workout and signing bonuses totaling approximately $720,000.

The team has not yet confirmed the signing.

The signing seemed imminent, as the team already started putting Davis to work today in practice, playing him with the first team in sub packages. Turn on the Jets wrote a fantastic article about Davis, explaining what he has to offer and how he can impact the team this season (Hint: He is another part of the solution for those pesky Patriots tight ends). I suggest you give it a read.

You may also recall that Rex Ryan likened Davis’ leadership skills to that of Ray Lewis after seeing him work in rookie training camp. If we are to believe Ryan, Davis has a lot to offer both on and off the field.

The team still has one rookie yet to sign, WR Jordan White, who sat out of OTAs today because of a foot injury.

****

The Jets also announced the signing of TE Tarren Lloyd, as was previously reported by Jake Steinberg. The team waived tackle John Cullen to make room for Lloyd on the roster.

As I explained this morning, Lloyd is a blocking tight end, so that should make some people happy. Ahem.

Jets rookie mini camp has been underway since Friday, and both the coaching staff and those in attendance have offered a glimpse of what we can expect from this incoming rookie class.

I have highlighted those that have garnered the most attention, and obviously Coples and Hills are on that list.

One quick “for what it’s worth” comment on these player notes (and hopefully I am not telling you something you don’t already know), but Rex Ryan likes to engage in hyperbole. Just keep that in mind when reading and interpreting his comments.

Quinton Coples

Yesterday we learned that Coples was given the playbook the day after he was drafted to get a head start on learning the Jets notoriously complex defense. Coples was moved all around the D Line in camp, spending time at both end and tackle. For what it’s worth, Coples explained that he believes he is “a tenth faster on the left side than right side.” According to Rex, Coples tallied 6 sacks in practice yesterday (in non-contact drills).

In his Friday press conference, Rex compared Coples to former Jet Shaun Ellis.

Coples did not participate in all of the team drills today and was spotted mostly working off to the side. He told reporters it was a “coach’s decision.”  According to Rex Ryan’s presser, Rex held him out so that he could have an opportunity to see other defensive lineman compete and perform. Rex noted that he has done this before with other other rookie lineman in camp. (Nothing to see here, let’s move on from this).

Rex again told the media that Coples WILL start and WILL be used in multiple schemes.

Photo from Twitter

Stephen Hill

Based on the tweets from beat reporters who attended the first two days of minicamp, Stephen Hill is already the apple of everyone’s eye.

Hill’s size, speed and long arms grabbed attention, and many, including ESPN’s Rich Cimini, commented on his route running and body control. Rex also praised Hill’s routes and added that he burned the defense a few times.

The biggest question about Hill has been about his skills as a pass catcher. It will be a question you will continue to hear about Hill, but I think thus far he has proven the insinuation by many critics that he has poor ball skills is a little ridiculous.

I also believe that Hill’s college statistics are largely a product of the triple option offense they ran at Georgia Tech and are not a good indicator of how effective a pass catcher he is. He did not have the opportunity to rack up numbers like some of the other receivers in this class.

Make no mistake: Rex and the team are extremely high on Hill. So much so that Rex admitted that they would have considered taking Hill with the 16th pick, and that is likely another reason why the team rushed to get him under contract.

Hill is the second rookie from this year’s class to be signed to a contract, and the first of the Jets draft picks. » Continue reading “News and Notes from Jets Rookie Mini Camp”